A Japanese grenade from World War II is now in safe hands after it was discovered at an Elgin scrapyard Wednesday.

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The grenade was found of Lauderdale County Road 76 at Thornton Iron & Metal. The grenade was discovered in a scrap bin.

"Someone had apparently just thrown it out into a recycling pile, and one of the workers located it," said Florence police lieutenant Brad Holmes. Holmes also serves on the Florence police bomb squad, which removed the grenade and transported it in a safe container where it could be destroyed.

These events may seem rare, but Holmes says they are more common than most think.

"We respond to about half a dozen calls similar to this a year, and generally it's someone who has moved from a location or someone who has passed away," Holmes says, "Their family members are going through belongings finding these items from wartime."

Police instruct anyone who comes across an explosive such as a grenade to immediately call police, because they are still live despite its age.

Police are working with the U.S. Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal Response Team to properly dispose the grenade.